


Restless

by Auraspirit157



Series: Watch_Dogs As I See It [4]
Category: Watch Dogs (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 21:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2124714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auraspirit157/pseuds/Auraspirit157
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aiden has always been restless; a fiery soul , intent on accomplishing his goal no matter what the cost. Yet, there's always a line to cross, a person to hurt. Aiden faces an enemy he could never figure out: himself. (major spoilers, language)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Restless

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This story contains spoilers….like, seriously, I basically spoil the majority of the plot in the first few sentences.  
> ALSO WARNING: Bad Language is bad, if you care about that.

Aiden Pearce was incredibly tired. After finally killing Damian and Lucky Quinn, after escaping the cops and letting Maurice live another day, he could finally rest.

But it wasn’t that simple, not for Aiden. He was never the best sleeper. He was restless, awake, and aware of everything. Even then his body was heavy with fatigue, his mind and eyes darted with life and energy. He sits on the bed in one of his many hideouts, trying to relax. Yet his muscles were coiled, strained with paranoia.

“Even after solving everything, I still can’t fucking sleep,” Aiden finds himself muttering to the air, laying on the bed with little success of relaxing. He remembered Jordi joking once about growing lavender in his hideouts, the punch line being that Aiden wouldn’t be able to keep crab grass alive, much less a flowering plant. Despite how depressingly true the statement was, Aiden took little offense to it, much to Jordi’s disappointment.

The hacker shifts slightly, glancing at his phone. The clock read 1am, that being pretty early for him to attempt to rest. He often pulled all-nighters stopping street crimes or running from the cops as a _result_ of stopping street crimes. He usually ended up sleeping half the day instead of at night, like normal people did.

Despite his nocturnal nature, Aiden wanted to sleep. He had been so neglectful of it that it felt like he forgot how. He closes his eyes, taking deep breaths and, with abnormal struggle, tried to clear his mind.

Yet it was a far greater task than Aiden was willing to endure. He sits up, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. With instinctive eyes he checks his phone: 1:05am. A sigh escapes the man as he lays on his back once again, scrolling through his phone with little interest.

He stops at the digital trips app, seeing a small, white notification in the corner. He raises an eyebrow, clicking the app and seeing a new trip now available. Something called Conspiracy.

Digital Trips were interesting little mind-fucks. Aiden had indulged in them before: apps that transmitted binaural frequencies through headphones to put the listener in a dream-like state. It created different simulations for pleasure and relaxation.

That’s something Aiden needed.

“I don’t care if I have to knock myself unconscious. I’m going to fucking sleep,” Aiden speaks to himself once again, clicking the new trip, a message informing him to put in headphones or a Bluetooth device. He stretches and picks up a small, white earpiece from the table in front of him, plugging it in. A wave of lightheadedness washes over him, followed by a spike of pain, then darkness.

_**@3453*0_Location: Conspiracy_{Restless}_Mercy-I-Shall-Give-None** _

He woke in a darkened Chicago. The atmosphere was familiar to that of another trip: Alone. Yet, the artificial and all-consuming darkness was replaced with a foggy, twilight setting.

And a giant flying saucer blocking out the sun.

The hacker slowly stands, examining the spaceship with minimal alarm, “How do they come up with this shit?”

He stands, glancing at his clothes. Everything he wore was black, saving minor tints of blue. He seemed to have a different outfit in every trip, never what he was wearing when he activated it. Upon further investigation, he notices a strange, eye patch-like device on his right eye.

 He doesn’t attempt to take it off, already knowing what it did. The instructions had said something about destroying cyborgs. Something that Aiden caught onto quite quickly.

Equipped with nothing but a pistol, he finds his eye device is a scanner, revealing the cyborgs in the area and their weak points. Destroying them was as easy as hitting their weak points with a single bullet. The cyborgs tended to explode if they got close, though, prompting quick elimination before they are successful, lest Aiden is forced to do the wave again. One wave was giving him a lot of trouble, full of cyborgs with multiple points to hit.

“God damn kamikaze robots…” Aiden finds himself muttering, moving to the same area for the fifth time. He identifies all the cyborgs, killing the cowards and causing the other six to be alerted of his presence.

_“No one must know about us,”_ one bot drones, _“destroy him…destroy him…”_

_Take him to experiment…”_ another says from behind, Aiden shoots it quickly to prevent an explosion.

 He grimaces, shooting the last one, “You can’t have it both ways, you know, it’s either dead or alive.”

 He heads through the remainder of the district, slipping his hands in his pockets, wondering if this counted as getting rest. The entire experience was just a simulation, and he supposed there were worse ways to relax. Then again, he was just doing exactly what he did on a regular basis. The trip was extremely exaggerated, but basically the same thing.

The hacker stops in a small park, noticing a distinct lack of people. The other waves were in a populated area, but not a soul resided here.

 Not a soul except one.

Aiden sees a familiar man with his back turned to him, standing out in the open, playing on his phone. He paid no attention to him. The hacker’s eyes narrow, activating the detection device. The single man was the target, but even upon switching the device off, no weak points were revealed.

With a scowl, Aiden removes the device, examining it in his hand. He was surprised it wasn’t working, let alone being able to take it off in the first place.

“It’s working fine,” he hears himself say, but is confused by the words, as he isn’t the one that spoke them.

He looks up to meet the speaker, becoming face to face with himself.

He jumps back, aiming his pistol at the double’s head, ignoring the obviously strange feeling like he was shooting himself. Aiden knew it was just a simulation. But, whoever _designed_ this feature needed to be shot.

His double raises his hands, seeming overly satisfied by the reaction he received. He was the spitting image of Aiden, the one visual difference being in the red tints in his clothes and the darkness in his eyes, “You’re not going to shoot yourself, are you?”

The double’s voice lacked any robotic tinge. It sounded exactly like the true Aiden, something that made him shift only slightly, “Nope, I’m shooting a simulation.”

“Really? You sure about that?” The second Aiden speaks steadily, smirking.

_Do I really look so evil when I smirk?_ Aiden thinks off handedly, keeping his pistol aimed, “Aren’t you supposed to blow up or some shit?”

“I don’t think so,” he answers, holding out his hand, “Aiden Pearce. I’m a part of you.”

The hacker looks from his double’s hand to his face. He lowers his gun, “I think I’ve had enough of this, I’m waking up.”

He reaches to take the ever-present earbud out, but his double takes two strides forward, snatching his wrist, “No. Not yet.”

 Aiden yanks his hand away, staring at him, “How did you do that?”

He steps back upon his twin’s reaction: raising his hands again to assure he meant no harm, “You’re my other half. I see that now. I’ve never seen you before….but I am real. We’re the same,” he says calmly, lowering his hands and staring back with the same dark eyes, “And you know me more than you think.”

Aiden stares in silence, trying to understand the game this simulation was playing. But simulations were never able to touch him like his twin did. It all seemed like some kind of sick joke that Aiden was certainly not laughing at.

“You seem anxious now, I can’t imagine why,” The twin speaks again.

“No idea,” Aiden spits sarcastically.

“Don’t you understand? And I thought I was smart…I am you, you are me.”

“You are not anything. You are a simulation, just a bunch of coding trying to mess with me,” Aiden pulls out his phone, hoping to perhaps hack his way out of the trip. Maybe it was malfunctioning. He didn’t really know why he could even use his phone unconscious, but he wasn’t questioning it now.

“Would coding know about Clara?”

 Aiden freezes, the mention of the name tearing at his whole being. He looks up, there is absolutely no way a simulation would know about Clara. Clara was dead. Gone.

 “How about T-bone? Jordi? Damian…” The twin continues, slowly dropping his hands.

“Stop…” Aiden says, it wasn’t what he wanted to say, but his mind was running in circles, this made no sense.

 “…Or Lena?” His twin speaks, and Aiden sees something in the back of his eyes, pain; a heated anger. Something he felt, constantly. But now…now at the mention of his young niece his blood went cold.

“You can’t know about them…you’re—“

“A simulation, right?” The twin almost seemed offended by the statement now. He steps closer, “Would a simulation go through weeks and weeks of research, of pain-stacking, sleepless nights to find those responsible for her death? Would a _simulation_ hunt them down and make them rightfully suffer? And make every God forsaken man or woman that—that _dare_ step in my way meet a similar fate?”

 Aiden wanted to protest, to say yes, that is what a simulation would do, someone that isn’t human. But his answer was picked far before he could even think about it. This twin….it _was_ him, it was who he had become. But, he couldn’t accept that, he couldn’t.

He shook his head, stepping back as his twin advances, “No…No I’m not you. I am different.”

His twin laughed, a startlingly similar laugh, it was short ended with a scoff, “You cannot deny yourself. I protect this city, I am the only one that cares. The police, they don’t matter. I killed them before. Like I killed the others, Damian, Iraq, Quinn. They are all dead by my hand. And I don’t regret it, I don’t regret anything. Because they got what they deserved.”

 “I didn’t kill Maurice…” Aiden said, as if that said anything. Sparing Maurice only furthered his suffering. But that wasn’t the point here. His twin was speaking as if he did everything Aiden did…but he _was_ Aiden. At least, he spoke and stood and looked like Aiden.

 His twin frowned, “I shouldn’t have. He killed her. He shot the tire.”

“He was a victim, he suffered enough—“

_“I should have killed him!”_

 A deadly silence grew between the two of them. Aiden saw every fiber of his being over the past weeks in this man. That unrestrained passion for revenge, blind to the rest of the world. He knew what he thought, but he also knew what he _should_ be thinking. He should be rejecting this part of him, pushing it away, breaking apart from the menace that he had become.

But that was just it. What he turned to…it saved him, it saved the most important people in his life. No matter how much Aiden dreaded the sight of the merciless man in front of him, he was a part of him. But someone he could control now.

 Aiden looks back at his twin, “I didn’t kill him, no. Does that piss you off?”

The twin seems stricken, “Are you challenging yourself?”

 “Yes, I am. You may be me, but you are not all of me. Not anymore,” Aiden looks back at his phone, beginning to connect to the system, “I’m waking up.”

_“No.”_

Aiden hears a gun shot, his phone flying from his hand and shattering on the ground, a bullet hole pierced right through it. He turns to his twin, who pointed his pistol right at him. The darkness in his eyes more intense, the kind of look Aiden was sure was faced by many that he had killed.

He didn’t realize how terrifying he looked.

 “You’re not waking up, you are my weakness.”

 “Same could be said about you,” Aiden pulls out his pistol again and steps away from his shattered phone, his twin mimicking his movement. They walked a circle, neither one dropping their aim.

 “I’ll kill you…I’ll kill you and then everything will be right. I can’t be tortured anymore. Don’t you understand? You are making me weak, you’ll get me fucking destroyed!” The twin hissed, the grip on his pistol tight.

“Because I have feelings, right?” Aiden couldn’t help but remember what Jordi told him, about separating your morals from money and business. It made him wonder if the man ever had this kind of conversation with himself, though it was obvious who won in the end.

 “Yes, at least you understand that much…”

“You know you can’t have it both ways, right?” Aiden says suddenly,

“What are you talking about?”

 “It’s either dead or alive. It’s either having purpose or no purpose at all. If I die, all you have is hate, you’ll be like every other fucking soulless piece of shit that you’ve killed.”

“That’s not true, I’ll remember. I told you I remember!” His twin was angry. Of course he was, he was Aiden, and if Aiden knew anyone, it was himself.

 “I’m what keeps you sane,” Aiden said, knowing he had the upper hand now, “I’m what keeps you human.”

 His twin’s eyes flare up, “You’re nothing!”

Aiden feels the bullet hit his shoulder, dropping his own gun. Surprising, he couldn’t feel any pain, as if it never happened. He grabs his shoulder, blood seeping through his coat despite this. His twin steps forward, shoving him down, pointing the pistol back at his head.

Aiden looks up, straight at his twin, “Go ahead, do it. You won’t feel a thing. You won’t regret it.”

The twin growls, readjusting his grip, “I’ll kill you, everything will be alright.”

The way he said it. He actually believed it. Aiden knew he has said that to himself before. Kill Damian, kill Lucky, kill Maurice, and everything will be alright. It was a stupid way of thinking, everyone knew that. But it was the truth.

“Keep telling yourself that, but I’m the one that decides your fate.” Aiden says.

The twin watches him, as if he expected a different response. With blazing eyes and a hollow face, he pulls the trigger.

_**{Hack}_8031_The Loop_{Pearce}_Merciless-I-Shall-Feel-Always** _

Aiden eyes fly open, sitting up from the boxcar floor, gasping like had just been in a marathon. The sleeping bag that had been on his bed was tangled and snake around his leg, his jacket pulled off and in the corner and his hat lay beside him.

“What the fuck….?” Aiden moans, slowly pulling himself up. His phone sat charging next to his computer, the earpiece for the digital trips nearby, in its usual place.

Aiden had never put it in.

The hacker picks up his hat, placing it back on his head. He heard the sound of traffic beyond the walls of the boxcar. He takes his phone, reading the clock: 12:45pm. He didn’t just sleep, he _over_ slept.

With a growing confusion he goes through his apps, seeing the new digital trip frozen on the instructions.

The night’s events suddenly came back to the man. He had seen the app before, he’d read the instructions on the way to his hideout, but he didn’t play it, only watched a small video presentation showing what happened in the little game.

Aiden leans against the counter, gripping its edge, “I was dreaming…?”

 Instinctively he touches his shoulder, which was completely normal. His phone was fine. He couldn’t say that much about his head, however, which was pounding as if…well it had been shot.

“I was fucking dreaming…” Aiden speaks again, feeling the need to keep telling himself. It was the most realistic one he had ever experienced, like the nightmare of the night Lena died, it tore at his thoughts and feeling. It felt so real.

With dazed movement he changes his clothes, throwing on a particularly dark jacket, grabbing his phone and stepping out into the blinding sunlight. He keeps his gaze down as he moved toward the coffee shop. On his way he contemplated the bizarre experience facing the darker side of himself. He could admit that he had thought about it before, but never like this. When he saw himself, he couldn’t see anything but malice and intimidation.

 Is that really all he’s become?

Uncertain, he enters the coffee shop. A young man works behind the counter, Aiden saw his hair was purple under his work cap. The young man looked at him briefly, smiling, “What’s your liking, mate?”

Aiden orders absentmindedly, his thoughts still captured by his dream. The young man creates his coffee with efficiency.

The hacker didn’t hear the kid say any price, but in his stupor he realized he didn’t bring any money with him. He swears under his breath, but when he looks back the young man, he is putting some bills in the register, looking back at him with a smile.

“It’s alright, mate, I’ve got it.”

“You don’t have to do that, I’ve heard they don’t pay you well here.”

 “I have other kinds of work, mate, it’s the least I can do,” He said and smiles at Aiden’s confused expression. The young man leans against the counter, speaking quietly, “Listen, my girl comes home the other day and says she got attacked. But the _vigilante_ stopped the guy.”

 Aiden stares, and the young man chuckles, “It’s alright, I’d be confused too, mate,” he pushes the coffee to him, “The news always focuses on the bad shit in this town. You’re not as bad as they say you are. Personally, I think you’re a damn blessing in this place.”

With nothing else to say he goes to organizing pastries in the display case. Aiden slowly takes the coffee, walking out and down the street. He passes by some stores, his reflection pacing with him. Aiden stops, looking at the window, his reversed eyes watching him.

 “I think I’m going crazy,” He speaks to the window, “Really fucking crazy.”

He sips his coffee, it was strangely good, perhaps because it was free, or maybe it was what the young man said.

 Aiden sticks the phone back in his coat, “Sounds like a good time,” He says, turning the corner and walking among the crowd, sipping his coffee, a new wave of alertness fueling his struggle.


	2. Emotionless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I was thinking about this idea for a while. Since I decided that Aiden is fucking insane, I imagined his brain being the equivalent of a disgruntled office building. With this in mind, I’ve also decided to continue this story to explore the other parts of his mind. I can totally do it to, because Aiden doesn’t have a personality in the game.  
> So here’s the first of four new chapters to establish what I believe makes our favorite hacker function, enjoy…

Aiden is cradling his arm when he exits the apartments’ back door. The entire experience was business as usual until one of the men he was sure was dead catapulted at him with a shard of glass. Luckily, he had already taken down the leader, but the attack left a noticeable gash on his arm. It is safe to admit that Aiden was not pleased with that particular man.

He takes several intensive minutes try to care for the wound in the alley. He had found no first aid kit in the hideout but that didn’t stop him. The hacker flinches at the sight of it when he finally reveals it from the layers of clothing.

“Fuck…” He curses, realizing the wound’s severity. He knew for a fact T-bone was not the best doctor in the world, and hospitals were never a happy place for Aiden. He leans back, the stinging pain of the arm beginning to rise.

“Sir?”

Aiden moves his head to the side, seeing a woman standing over him. She is a slender, willowy build, her skin looking of Indian heritage. She looks at him with dark, but concerned eyes.

Before Aiden can tell her to leave she crouches next to him, forcing his hand away from his arm gently. She gasps at the gash, “This is horrible. I will help you.”

“No…no it’s alright—“

Aiden stops as the woman turns his arm. He assumes she was just inspecting it, but her fingers poke around the palm of his hand. She looks up, reaching out and touching his cheek and forehead before speaking quietly, “Oh dear…your aura…it isn’t right either.”

The hacker knocks her hand away, pulling himself up. She stands with him as he speaks, “Ah, listen, I don’t know what you mean but—“

“I will help you. I will not ignore this! You are in deep need of a reading!” She grabs a fist full of his jacket, pulling him with surprising strength out of the alley.

“Look, I just need a first aid kit not a…” He trails off, suddenly recognizing the woman. She is a fortune teller, he always sees her sitting in parks or street corners offering her skills to random civilians. Aiden always assumed her to be crazy, assuming she never charged for the supposed readings and that she never seemed to do anything else. Then again, he has seen people leave like they had just seen ghosts.

This is beginning to concern him.

Nonetheless, he needs to fix the wound and the woman has already dragged him into another set of apartments a block down.

“Come…in here,” She says, opening one of the doors. A wave of herbal scents wafts into the hallway, making Aiden question what the hell he’s getting himself into. Yet, he follows the woman into the small home. It is oddly normal, considering the organic smell. Aiden sees a small incense burner near the door, other than that, the rooms were simply furnished, save a couple dream catchers and some other charms hanging from the walls.

“My name is Kia, Fox,” The woman suddenly says, dropping her bags on the floor.

“Fox…” Aiden repeats, it is a common nickname for him to be called when he walked down the street.

She looks at him, “Do you prefer Vigilante? I honor your anonymity, and will not ask your name.”

Aiden stares, readjusting the grip on his wound, twitching slightly at the spike of pain, “Whatever. I just need something for my arm.”

“Yes. Your cut…I will help you, I only require your time, Fox,” She says carefully, as if warding off an angry dog, “Please, sit.” She gestures to the kitchen table. Aiden watches her, slowly taking a seat at the table. He awkwardly reaches in his pocket with his less bloody hand, pulling out his phone. He profiles Kia as she shuffles about.

_Kia Bends; Age: 35; Occupation: Fortune Teller, Clairvoyant, and Psychic._

Aiden lets out a slow, irritated breath. He’s seen types like her on television, he doesn’t believe it for one millisecond. There is no way to “sense” the dead. It is completely illogical and the media is ridiculous to try and get anyone to believe that sort of shit. Then again, many people did believe in spectral reading, he supposes he shouldn’t judge, but he still finds it nonsense.

“There are many spirits that burden your soul, Fox,” She says cryptically as she enters the kitchen with medical supplies. She tends to his cut with little hesitation, “You have suffered painful losses.”

Anyone could guess that. It isn’t exactly a mystery that he lost someone, most just know very little. As they should. Regardless, he decides to play along, lest he sit here for ages.

“I have,” He agrees, watching her carefully as she mends the cut. He reacts little to the sting of the chemicals she sprays to prevent infection, pain means little to him now, he finds himself feeling it less and less.

Kia does not look up at him, but speaks casually, “I can feel the presence of a young spirit.”

Aiden frowns, but says nothing.

“She is asking what happened, she is concerned.” The woman’s brow furrows before speaking again, “She is saying ‘uncle’ many times—“

“Any more spirits you’d like to focus on?” Aiden interrupts without regret. He can feel a coiled anger at the woman for mentioning something so similar to Lena. It is ridiculous.

“Yes. There is a male voice.” She says, seeming to take note of Aiden’s rudeness and speaks with iron, “He is laughing.”

No. No that isn’t Damien. Damien is dead, gone forever. Aiden couldn’t believe he even thought of there being a ghost for even a minute, “That’s not very nice,” He mutters.

When Kia finishes the bandages Aiden is on his feet. She is quick to catch his sleeve, “Please, Fox, I beg you to listen.”

“I don’t need any voodoo bullshit. Thank you for helping me, really, but I’d rather leave,” He tugs her grip away, heading to the door.

“Very well. Tell me, Fox, have you had any problems with nightmares?”

Aiden stops, his hand on the knob of the door. His fingers slipping off it, silent.

“I’ll take that as a yes. I told you. The soul speaks the most in dreams. I suppose it involved seeing yourself.”

“How did you—“

“Please, Fox, take a seat.”

Aiden stares at the door, memories of the past night’s dream flashing in his mind. He steps back, muttering, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He returns to the chair.

Kia is pleased, smiling pleasantly at the hacker, “Thank you.”

“Just tell me what the fuck is wrong with me.”

The fortune teller raises a critical eye at Aiden, “There is nothing _wrong_ with you, Fox. Have you done a great deal of soul searching recently?”

If taking great pains to eradicate all that caused his nieces death; including but not limited to the disposal of random crimes, escaping police and killing countless numbers of viceroy along with an old man and his long-known mentor lingered under the category of “soul searching” Aiden wouldn’t hesitate to say yes. Then again, he did think a lot after the fact, and still did.

“I suppose so,” Aiden answers neutrally, “I have.”

Kia smiles again, “Tell me about your past dream.”

The hacker takes a moment to look over at the door before beginning his explanation. The more he delves into the nightmare, the more he feels like he’s really going crazy. However, the woman before him only nods, stopping him now and again to ask simple questions: What his twin was wearing, what his tone of voice was, etc.

“He shot me in the head at the end,” Aiden finishes, “I woke up after that.”

After a pause Kia whispers, “I see…this is intriguing. Give me your hand.”

Aiden is through with questioning it. He holds it out to which Kia promptly takes it, closing her eyes. She takes relaxed breaths, gasping suddenly and letting go.

“What? What is it?” Aiden demands, genuinely startled.

Kia looks at him with a serious gaze, her dark eyes intense, “I suspect a series of messages will appear in the coming nights, in your dreams. You’ll be visited by four spirits—“

Aiden scoffs, leaning back, “Are they going to tell me the true meaning of Christmas?”

This does not stop the fortune teller, “Four more spirits of yourself. I cannot say the meaning of this, or why, but it will happen. Four nights. Four spirits.”

“I think I’ve had enough of this…” Aiden stands, “Thank you, again, for healing my arm.” He steps away, walking out into the hall before she can speak again.

The hacker walks down the street, wondering for a couple quiet minutes if he was too bitter toward the woman. She was trying to help, even if it was in an obnoxious fashion. Despite this, he couldn’t help but wonder about what she had said. Four spirits or himself. It is eerie enough, it also sounded completely inane.

He curses, hating the sudden conflict he had. There is no possible way this could mean anything.

With closure in his thoughts, he continues ahead only to stop, looking behind him. He swears he heard a quiet chuckling, someone amused by his struggle.

“I need a fucking nap.” Aiden huffs out, walking again into the dying light.

**_{Dream}_%78$$#9@6_Location: Winter_{Emotionless}_Fragility-of-Feeling_ **

Aiden wakes to startling cold. He had gone to sleep late in the night, now waking in the same boxcar hideout. However, the usual coolness of the container had turned to an uncomfortable chill.

With questions in his mind he rolls upward, realizing quickly that the cold was more than just a feeling. Frost curled on the walls and electronics, dimming the lights.

“How…?” the hacker couldn’t finish his own question. He snatches up his phone, opening the boxcar’s door.

Beyond he’s greeted with a massive expanse of snow and ice.

He steps out, his boots crunching the powder beneath him. The chill in the air is near Antarctic, but he could barely process anything. Only that it was autumn when he went to sleep.

The hacker leaves the alley he resides in, stepping onto the sidewalk. No cars were on the road save a couple which traveled through the snowy paths at pitiful speed. Some civilians walked about but they all shivered and swiveled, as if every shadow scared them to the core.

“This is a dream…” Aiden speaks to himself, moving down the sidewalk, “I’m fucking dreaming again…it has to be…”

Curious, he jogs up to a nearby pedestrian. She walks quickly, glancing behind her, meeting his gaze with gripping fright.

“Oh God, don’t hurt me! I didn’t do anything, I promise!” She pleads, backing away from him but not full on running.

“What are you talking about? I’m not going to hurt you.” Aiden says bluntly, his usual tone hiding his confusion.

The woman takes an extra second to look him over. The fear is clear in her face, but her voice becomes slightly curious, “Y-you look different…”

“Different?” Aiden’s eyes narrow, “Different how?”

She is stricken with fear once again, “I didn’t mean to say that! Don’t…don’t come any closer!”

She bolts down the street. Aiden watches her with increasing disdain. Something about the way she looked at him made his stomach turn. She looked at him as if he were the Devil himself.

A cold wind strikes him from behind, easily chilling him to the bone. He turns, suddenly meeting his reflection.

The situation is similar to that of his previous dream. However, this second Aiden boasted a much less furious appearance. He stands casually, cloaked in white, looking at him with an unreadable gaze. The dreaming hacker glances at his twin’s sleeve, a single word scrawled up the side of it: Emotionless.

“You’re in my way.”

Aiden snaps back to reality; what is left of it anyway. His twin watches him steadily, waiting for an answer.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Aiden asks, although fairly certain that the twin in front of him would not answer it the way he wanted him to.

His twin looks at him, bearing nothing but the same cold stare, “I’m you.”

Aiden huffs, rolling his eyes, “No shit. I mean _what.”_

“That’s not what you asked.” His twin mutters, “You are still in my way.”

He side-steps the hacker, heading down the sidewalk. Distantly, Aiden’s anger flared at his twin’s immediate dismissal. However, he couldn’t give in to this, it is a dream and nothing else. Last time he woke after speaking to the twin and somewhat conquering him. Maybe that’s what he has to do here. He will play along, anything to get him out of this faster.

“Hey!” Aiden calls, meeting back with the white-clad reflection.

His twin shows no annoyance, or anything at all really. He addresses him with the same stare again, “And here you are, in my way again.”

“I’ve seen this before,” Aiden says, “What? Are you supposed to be “my emotionless half”?”

The twin does not change his expression but turns his attention to his sleeve, then back at Aiden, “Ah. I see what this is. You are the culmination then. Honestly, I’m not impressed in the slightest.”

The hacker raises an eyebrow, “What?”

“You’ve met Restless.”

“Restless--?”

“He tried to kill you. A fragile thing, that one, so… _sensitive._ ” He speaks the word as if it is a plague on existence. His eyes are cold but calculating as he looks back at Aiden, “I can assure you that I won’t attempt something so foolish. I’m sure this meeting is part of some metal psychosis brought upon by lesser figments of your being—ahem—your emotions, I apologize.”

The hacker stares, completely baffled. The twin spoke in a way devoid of any feeling. He could guess that enough by the name on his sleeve, but he is also cold and intelligent. However, the twin knew about the events of his last dream, how was that even possible? This had to be a reoccurring dream, a strange, strange reoccurring dream. He remembers suddenly what the fortune teller had told him, she knew this would happen.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Aiden asks, forcing most of his realistic questions back down his throat.

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” His twin moves past him again, “Some say that repetitive dreams tell of future events.” He stops, pivoting toward him, “But that is a ridiculous notion.”

“I can think of several things that are more ridiculous than that right now…” Aiden mutters, following after the twin as another chill wind hisses by, “You called that other me fragile.”

“That’s because he is. They all are. Restless, Dauntless…” He huffs in blunt bitterness, “Defenseless. They are all weaker beings. Emotions, feelings, they only drag you down, cloud your better judgment. Logic cannot fight such the chaotic, powerful force of the human heart.”

It is odd how profound the twin speaks. Then again, this is supposed to be emotionlessness in its purest form. Aiden can only fathom that the being is his isolated, calculating side, free from emotion. It is a part of him he feels he sees a lot. He then remembers that this twin named several…people. His other emotions? This is beginning to hurt his head.

“Since when have emotions gotten in my way?” He asks the continually moving figure.

Emotionless stops again, “I thought you would understand—right. You are a culmination. Only part of you understands.”

“Just answer the damn question!”

“Fine. I don’t know why you keep so many people close to you. You…you are pulled down by those you love. Those people you want to protect. The only way to protect is to isolate, to keep them all away. If they don’t care then you won’t care. There is no stress then, nothing to stop you.”

Aiden thinks about this, a wave of realization overthrowing him, “You’re just like the other me. Listen. If I kept everything and everyone away…well that would just be a fucking sad life, wouldn’t it?”

“It would be?”

“What?”

“How would that be…?” Emotionless trails off, one, single laugh escaping him, “Right. What am I saying? I keep forgetting that my logic is useless on you. I am powerless compared to the others that corrupt your heart. If I didn’t know better…I would pity you.”

“Pity that I care about the world?”

“No.” Emotionless steps back, “I would pity your needless suffering.”

Aiden shakes his head, “Yes. It’s needless. But that’s life.”

“If you let me in, you wouldn’t feel it. I don’t feel anything. I control the words you speak. If it wasn’t for me no one would fear you.”

“That’s a rather bold way of putting it,” Aiden says, “I find that hard to believe.”

“Do you really think that if any of those people you threatened saw sympathy in your eyes that they would back down so willingly?”

“That didn’t help with Clara, did it?” Aiden felt sick talking about her, a deep pain stabbing through his thoughts, “She was never afraid of me.”

There was no sight of reaction from Emotionless, “She doesn’t matter. She’s dead.”

“And you’re OK with that?”

“Why would I not be?”

“Because…” Aiden trails off, knowing the answer.

“You don’t seem to grasp how little fucks I give,” Emotionless spoke. The hacker didn’t think anyone could swear with less interest than the man in front of him, “Besides, that girl betrayed you. You let her in, you trusted her. That’s how it always is. Everyone disappoints you at the end.”

Aiden couldn’t stand this anymore, “Well that’s a fucking depressing thing to say.”

“Only to someone who feels depression.”

“You’re wasting my time.”

“You’re killing mine.”

The two identical-looking men stare each other down. Neither hold back, but neither could break the other. Emotionless sighs, “I believe we are at an impasse, culmination.”

“Yeah. We are.” Aiden agrees, but doesn’t take his eyes off the man, “But…just so we’re clear. You could not break a man with emotions.”

There is a slight, barely visible tinge in Emotionless, a spark of anger, “I cannot break _you._ I’m a part of you. And you’re dreaming.”

This statement is a reminder to Aiden, he is getting absorbed in an illusion. He nods slowly, a chill wind whipping through the two. While Emotionless stood like a statue, vanishing in a white fog, Aiden almost falls over from the force. Snow pelts him like tiny needles, tearing through his clothing.

He hears a scoff, a white-sleeved hand reaching out from the visionless storm and taking his arm, “You’re waking up.” The calm voice of himself says before yanking him forward into the storm.

**_{Hack}_8032_Cemetary_{Pearce}_Those-That-Feel_ **

Within a couple seconds of waking, Aiden had felt the goose bumps that cover his skin. He had lifted his arm, the bloodstained bandage still secure around his cut. He was back to reality.

“This is really happening…” He had muttered, slowly sitting up. The boxcar was the same temperature it always was. Aiden didn’t bother questioning it at this point. Instead, he felt a strange, overwhelming desire for something.

He had stood with the intention of doing it. In a couple minutes he was out the door, walking briskly into the Loop.

Now…now he stands at the foot of Lena’s grave. He cannot count how many times he has stood in the exact spot, watching the grave, reading every carved word. Despite all he’s done, everything he accomplished and failed at, he could never have her back. What happened cannot be reversed, ending a thousand lives could not resurrect one.

Aiden sets a small bunch of lavender on the grave. He remembers buying them, the clerk clearly recognizing him but saying nothing about it. He cannot help but think of what the illusion of himself said before.

Emotions are weakness, isolation is protection.

The hacker closes his eyes, a slow and deliberate breath escaping him. With little thought, he feels a couple tears escape. It is odd, letting himself be anything but angry. Then again, that’s all he felt, just clouded but stubborn revenge.

He wipes away the tears, looking back at the grave, “I’m sorry, Lena.” He says to the stone, as if it will answer back. If what the fortune teller said is true, about Lena’s spirit watching him, he is truly sorry.

Aiden turns away, shoving his hands in his pockets and heading down the hill as a chill wind rushes by, rolling leaves across the pavement.


	3. Dauntless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another demon.  
> Hope you enjoy, I believe it will be a fun experience for all.

Aiden could feel his eyelids weakening as he stands in front of the apartment door. The task of avoiding sleep far more tedious now than it had been in the past. Part of him wants to think his strange nightmares are trying to call him back. Like some mourning specter beckoning strangers to their immediate demise.

But he is ignoring that part.

Then again, he is back at the strange fortune teller’s apartment, smelling the organic scents of herbs and spices waft delicately from beyond the door.

“I can’t believe I’m here again…” he speaks to himself. It would be around the point where someone would say why he is. A joke, most likely. However, there is no one. After his latest dream, the isolation and empty silence almost feels like a sin.

He knocks on the door, counting the beats of pause before it cracks open. He doesn’t know what he expected the woman to do. When her dark eyes catch him, she merely smiles, pushing the door open wider before speaking, “I knew you’d be back, Fox.”

“I would rather you didn’t mock me,” Aiden says coolly, “I just want to know what is going on.”

“I know. You are a restless soul, Fox. You seek answers to questions you struggle to understand…” she moves away, leaving the door opened as she saunters deeper into the home.

Aiden follows, shutting the door behind him. The room is very much the same, save the different scent. He travels into a small den, Kia residing casually in one of the chairs. Sitting in the one next to her, he asks, “Why am I having these dreams?”

“Why do you _think,_ Fox?” She questions immediately, as if she was waiting for him to ask what he did.

Aiden thinks again about his last dream, Emotionless speaking about it as a simple event brought about by his feelings.

“I think I’ve just been through a lot…” He decides to admit, “I think it is just…”

“Stress?” Kia finishes, playing idly with a small dream catcher, “Perhaps. That is the most logical reason. Have you ever considered the opposite?”

“Why would I consider something illogical?” Aiden asks despite his own inner nagging to truly consider it.

“You’re here, aren’t you? Seeking guidance on that which is unfamiliar…” Kia points out, resonating Aiden’s thoughts, “We are all, by nature, illogical, Fox. We work to build a life of complete emotional satisfaction through the choices we make. The _way_ we reach said goal may be questionable…but perhaps you were at balance before you fell…and your soul is simply trying to rehabilitate its injury. Can you consider this?”

The hacker finds it hard to. Can she really describe a soul reconstructing itself after loss ‘simple’? It seems pretty complicated and unorthodox to him.

Regardless, Aiden answers, “…I suppose I can consider that…”

“Good.” Kia smiles gently, “Tell me about your dream.”

He goes into his story, Kia relentless in knowing every detail. He gives it to her, recalling every sense of his experience with Emotionless. When he finishes, the clairvoyant nods once, seeming transfixed on the tale, “This is something I have seen before, if you can believe that, Fox,” she says, “And I can say that your journey is one you must understand yourself.”

“What does that even—“

“I can, however, try and predict your next occurrence…” She ponders, watching him carefully, “What is your strongest, most important emotion?”

The Vigilante leans back on the chair, silent for the longest time. What _is_ his most important emotion? People think he has none at all. Then again, he sometimes doesn’t. It is easy to detach himself from reality, sometimes for longer than he anticipates.

Kia notices the man’s struggle, speaking up again, “You need not lie, I will not judge you.”

“Believe me when I say I don’t care what you think about me,” Aiden says roughly out of his frustration.

“Your first dream…your first clone was that of a man who has nothing to lose: a merciless and unforgiving being who felt wronged in some way.”

“He is Restless…” Aiden mumbles, mostly to himself, but speaks louder as he continues, “He is my hatred…but he didn’t like being that way. He only thinks it’s necessary.”

Kia nods in agreement, “Restless, as you call him, must be that which corrupts you the most, your deepest desires for…”

“Justice.” Aiden finishes as she did for him before. He pitches the bridge of his now, shutting his eyes, “Can we continue?”

“Your second twin, Emotionless, needs no description, I believe,” Kia says, finally setting the dream catcher aside, “Cold…calculating as you told me. He is your intelligence, reasoning and calm demeanor. He resonates you the most: externally.”

  _I control the words you speak. If it wasn't for me, no one would fear you._

“Right…” Aiden looks back at Kia, “And I’m going to have another dream. Aren’t I?”

“Yes…what did, ahem, Emotionless say? About others?”

“He said something about my other emotions. He called one Restless, my first dream I guess. Then Dauntless—“

“Dauntless?”

“Yes. Then…” Aiden trails off, the last one’s name is Defenseless, but he finds himself not wanting to speak of that one. The word is testing enough.

“Are you often afraid, Fox?” Kia asks.

The hacker is relieved that she asks the question, pulling him from the thoughts before. He says, “No. I’ve never been afraid of that much.”

“Then the answer is easy. Your next occurrence is that of your courageous persona. One that does not fear opposition.”

It seems reasonable. The fearless side of himself seems like a more pleasant conversation that that of Emotionless as well. Aiden could feel his common sense waning as he thinks of conversations with himself in dreams. He wishes with burning passion that the dream would not occur, that this is all just pure coincidence.

He knows he will be wrong.

“Thank you,” He says, standing, “You helped me, a lot.” He heads back to the door.

“Fox…”

He stops, looking back over at Kia as she lifts herself from the chair. She looks at him with a serious gaze, “Be wary of this twin, Dauntless…for a man who is purely without fear also breathes without regret.”

**_{Dream}_(*#%@996!!!_Location: Summer_{Dauntless}_Not-For-The-Faint-Of-Heart_ **

When Aiden awakes he is bombarded by a barrage of mucky humidity. The heat pushes at his layered clothing, sizzling the concreate he laid on. He sits up, curious as he looks up at the cosmic sky dyed like burning torchlight; flared red, orange and gold. He hadn’t woken in a replica of his bed, strangely enough. Then again, he really shouldn’t question any of this anymore. This is his third mind bending adventure and he is determined not to fall for the manipulation.

He stands, noticing from the wicked flashes of wind that he is on the roof of a building. He walks toward the end, staring out at a red-tinted Chicago. It almost looks normal, not like the empty, icy realm that his Emotionless side wandered in.  

Looking down he notices how tall the building is, the road and people walking along are barely visible. He begins to move back, only to run into someone. Assuming this to be his new twin he starts to turn but a hands grab his shoulders, shoving him off the edge of the building.

Aiden sucks in a breath as the world blurs, wind rushing past his ears as he hurtles toward the ground. With a sudden wave of panic he braces for impact, smashing into the roof of a car. His eyes shoot open, realizing they had been closed. He looks around, unhurt except for his manically beating heart. He sees the civilians have already retreated.

“It’s a dream…it’s a dream,” He repeats as he hears another car get totaled beside his. The only difference being that the figure that rolls from the wreckage is laughing like a child that just got off a roller coaster. Aiden already knows who it is based on his outfit; dyed a crimson red, black scrawl running down the side of his back: Dauntless.

“God _damn_ that is fun,” His twin exclaims, picking his hat off the ground, “Never gets boring.”

Aiden pulls himself off the car, feeling no sense of pain, “What the fuck was that for?” He asks his twin.

The man named Dauntless turns, a bizarre grin plastered on his face. It falls just a bit as he looks at Aiden, “What? You didn’t think that was fun?”

“Well, considering I would have been _dead_ if this were reality, no, no I did not think it was ‘fun’,” Aiden answers with narrowed eyes.

Dauntless laughs once, his grin returning, locking his hands behind his head, “Holy shit. So you’re the whole picture then? Emotionless mentioned you.”

Emotionless mentioned him? They can converse with one another? The hacker shakes his head slowly. This was a dream; there is some kind of universe. He didn’t care, play along; get through it.

“What did he say?” Aiden asks with a raised eyebrow.

“He said you were a lost cause,” He rolls his eyes, laughing, “I, for one, am impressed. Although you are a bit stiffer than I would have hoped.”

“Must be Emotionless.” Aiden attempts conversation, walking to him cautiously.

His twin thinks about the statement, nodding, “Yeah…yeah it is isn’t it? Heh…I feel bad. He just doesn’t get it. Then again, he’s infinitely better than Defenseless.” He rolls his eyes, heading down the street casually. Aiden follows beside him curiously.

“Defenseless…”

“Don’t even worry about him.”

“Well—“

“What did I say?” The twin speaks with a sudden sharpness, his eyes hardened as he looks at Aiden.

The hacker questions the abrupt escalation, but mutters, “Alright. So you’re my fearless self.”

Dauntless almost immediately reverts back to his grin, putting his hands in his pockets, “That’s right. Without me you’d be afraid of your own shadow.” He speaks with unbridled arrogance, even if it is true.

Aiden feels a sense of irritation, but also familiarity. The way this twin walks and speaks. It reminded him of someone very specific. He looks at Dauntless with a hardened face, “What is your opinion on morality?”

“Ooo, the serious question,” The twin reverts to a more depressed tone, suddenly turning on his heels and walking across the street toward a parking lot, “Honestly, all those fancy morals and lessons are not what I need to worry about. There is a fine line between pleasure and pain, my friend. And I am not going to cross if for something as silly as _regret.”_

“Oh my God, you’re Jordi,” Aiden mutters in realization as Dauntless steps onto the sidewalk, smirking back at Aiden.

“I’m afraid I’m not Jordi.”

“Yes you fucking are. You’re…” Aiden takes a deep breath, remembering what Kia had said. Her warning. If his twin feared nothing, then he didn’t fear punishment, he didn’t fear a broken heart or gut wrenching regret, “Forget it.”

“Already forgotten, friend.” He starts to turn, then stops, eyes meeting Aiden’s, “Jordi is a despicable man, yeah, but does that really matter?”

“Yes…it does.”

“How so? Wait…don’t answer that,” Dauntless smirks, “I get the feeling that you don’t understand who the fuck you are.”

“And you know, exactly? You’re part of me, not the whole picture,” Aiden is beginning to hate the smug expression on his twin, although it begins to fade at the hacker’s defensive tone.

“Woah there, calm down,” He says, just a rough, “Why are you so damn fragile? You are capable of so much yet you stop yourself. You’re _afraid._ You fear judgment, don’t you? That’s the most ignorant thing to fear.”

“You call _me_ ignorant?” Aiden laughs, not even caring anymore, “Says the side of me blind to danger. Says the side of me that thinks he can do anything without consequence.”

“Oh, please, don’t start this with me. You don’t want to piss me off,” Dauntless narrows his eyes, “If you are talking about the Merlot job that wasn’t just my idea. Emotionless had it all planned out and then you ran off, _you_ messed it up.”

The Merlot? It feels so long ago. That day everything fell apart. Everything had been set into motion.

“I guess I shouldn’t be too pissed about it. I mean, without that I probably wouldn’t be so damn prominent now, would I?” Dauntless laughs, it is an unstable sound, like some chemical about to blow, “You’ve never had to be so fearless until now.”

Aiden watches the growing violence in his twin’s green eyes. He steps back but Dauntless steps forward. The hacker raises an eyebrow, “What’s with that look?”

“Oh…you know…I just don’t like how much you’ve been questioning me. It’s getting a bit annoying. Almost like you want to die.”

“I’ve never wanted to die,” Aiden says slowly, “But if you want to kill me go on ahead. The first dream already beat you to it. Maybe you can release some of that pent up bitchiness.” He shouldn’t say that, but he did, and he saw his twin’s expression flare then harden.

“No…no I’m not going to kill you,” Dauntless says almost joyously, a tinge of amusement in his voice, “But I’ve got an experiment. How about this: How many bones of yours can I break until you relent and wake up?”

There seems to be a flare in temperature as the twin says this, making the summer heat almost unbearable. Aiden stares, his heart beating faster, “Are you crazy? Nothing is going to hurt me here.”

“Then there is nothing to fucking worry about, right? _Right?”_ Dauntless moves closer but Aiden backs up, startled by the pure, malicious aura his twin exudes. He felt the need to fight back, the man _is_ threating him, but he felt no weight on him, his baton isn’t with him, neither is his phone or pistol.

“Why…I can’t help but think you’re afraid of me right now,” Dauntless continues to goad as me moves faster, “Almost like you are useless without me. I didn’t know it was possible to fear fearlessness.”

_Fearing fearlessness._

“I think you’re crazy,” Aiden claims, “But I am not afraid of you.”

“I’m not crazy.” Dauntless states, his tone shifting completely to seriousness, “I just have no regret.”

“That seems like it would be a problem.”

“It isn’t for you. Is it?” Dauntless glares as Aiden hits a building’s wall, “Now you are just contradicting yourself. You have no regrets. That’s what makes your stronger. I fail to see why you can’t understand that.”

“There is more to it than that.”

Dauntless smiles. A twisted expression, “You can enlighten me while I break you in half.”

Aiden takes no time to second guess his next action of shoving his twin on the ground, taking off down the now abandoned street. The heat is intense, clawing at his skin and sensing. He stumbles, covering his eyes with his arm as a steam pipe explodes by him, smoke roaring through the musty air.

“You know, I always liked moving targets,” His twin’s voice calls from down the road, somehow heard over the steam, “It’s more satisfying when you catch them and shatter their legs.”

Aiden has never done that to anyone. At least not to that extent. Torture is something he could never take part in, unless it was necessary like with Maurice. Then again, he keeps failing to remember that this is Dauntless, a man with little to no sympathy or morality. Although, differing from Restless, he enjoyed the hell out of it.

He hears a beeping, seeing a grenade land close to him. He bolts down another alley as it explodes, taking a car with it. His thoughts wander somehow as he races down the strangely lengthened alleys. The first clone killed him, the second just walked away, and the third is mercilessly hunting him down. Maurice could be the first he thinks of, the first he chased down to the brink of his sanity.

If Aiden acted anything like this, that must have been terrifying.

As he runs back into the street he immediately ducks behind a car as bullets fly from just beyond, aimed at his legs. Right. Dauntless didn’t want to kill him. Just slow him down.

“Damn, you run pretty fast,” The clone comments somewhere close to Aiden’s spot, “I hope you don’t scream. You don’t seem like the type but…then again…without me it must be hard to stop yourself.”

Aiden grinds his teeth, getting very sick of his taunting attitude. Regardless he moves about the now abandoned cars. As he moves further he feels a distinct drop in temperature. Distinctly drastic.

He hears his clone growl, apparently feeling it as well, he speaks loud, deliberate, “Well _someone_ feels the need to ruin my fun.”

Whatever is ruining this fun, Aiden wants to get closer to it. He looks around, seeing Dauntless nowhere. He notices a store ahead, a toy store, frost covering the windows. He quickly darts toward it, almost immediately getting tackled to the hot asphalt. He just barely registers the familiar sound of his baton, grabbing his clone’s wrist before he can use it. He rolls them both to the side, using all his strength to yank him by his arm into a car that’s burning hot at this point. Dauntless shoves back, trying to regain control.

Aiden rips the baton from his hand, taking great speed in smacking the weapon across his twin’s face before quickly stumbling away, breathing hard. Dauntless is already getting back up, blood slashed on his face. He laughs, laughs like he just escaped a mental hospital. His eyes are bright, livid, “You’re going to regret that.”

“I regret nothing,” Aiden mocks, deadly quiet. He runs across the street and into the store. The suffocating heat retreats instantly into bitter cold. A very familiar cold. Frost and snow cake the stuffed animals and board games as he moves deeper in the store, wondering if he should have blocked the door.

“It’ll take him a moment to get in here.”

Aiden turns, a man, cloaked in white, sits on the register counter, Emotionless written on his sleeve.

So his inner demons can just traverse dreams and talk to one another? Whatever universe Aiden’s mind created, he refused to try and understand it anymore. Instead he focuses on his past twin who plays with a stuffed lamb doll, icy enveloping the fur he touches. The toy rips at Aiden’s heart, but certainly not sadness is portrayed on Emotionless, who looks at the doll as if it were a piece of paper or some other insignificant thing. He looks up at Aiden blankly, “I’ll answer your first question. My appearance here must have been some cognitive reasoning in the brain to get to through your…situation.”

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever…” Aiden’s head swivels to the door as it resonates a loud bang.

“He’ll break through eventually, even if it be by stubborn pride as his weapon,” Emotionless says, “You’ll have to break yourself from this realm. If not you may suffer brain damage.”

“Am I seriously at risk for that?”

Emotionless shrugs, “Humans get put in mental asylums for illusions, you know. Don’t let him catch you.”

“Well what exactly am I supposed to do?”

Emotionless ponders this, tossing the lamb doll aside, “Use your reasoning, Culmination. How did you break from your dreams before?”

“I killed Restless,” Aiden answers as the door bangs again, “And you just let me go.”

“Well Dauntless won’t kill you, but he won’t let you go,” Emotionless states, “Perhaps try the thing you know best.”

Aiden looks down at the ice-covered floor, then back, “Kill him?”

“Yes. Hilarious isn’t it?” Emotionless says dryly, stepping off the counter, “Defeating him could rip you from you dreaming state. So is getting caught although I’m sure you’d prefer the other option.”

“I would,” Aiden agrees, “But I don’t have a weapon, and I don’t think the baton is good enough.”

Emotionless looks to Aiden with a condescending roll of the eyes, “Have you figured out yet that this is _your_ hallucinations, Culmination? And a lucid one at that. You can manipulate your surroundings, from what I gather about that. How do you think I got here?”

His logical twin brings up a point Aiden sadly didn’t consider. It _is_ his dream, isn’t it?

In a split second the door behind shatters, an explosion sending Aiden to the back of the store. As he regains himself he hears two identical voices, one sounding very displeased.

“You know you ruin all the fun, right?” He assumes it Dauntless, his voice like iron.

“Fun is just a means to gain some emotional pleasure. I don’t need fun and neither do you. You need to do your _job,_ not repress such stupid aggression.”

He hears Dauntless scoff, “Spare me. I’ll never get this chance again. It’ll be funny, you can watch.”

“I don’t find anything funny. You’ll hurt his logic.”

“That won’t happen! He’ll just have a headache.”

“You are a headache.”

Aiden stifles a laugh before realizing he is listening to an argument between two versions of himself. He shakes his head violently, looking around. He sees the lamb doll Emotionless had thrown, slowly taking it as he hears Dauntless shove and shuffle through the frost and snow, Emotionless speaking something but is melts like ice in the sun.

_Fearing fearlessness._

_Without me you’d be afraid of your own shadow._

Aiden lifts up a pistol, colored white, but he doesn’t notice. Dauntless stops as Aiden aims, standing.

“What the Hell are you doing?”

Aiden stares down his twin, “Have you ever thought that it is OK to be afraid sometimes?”

Dauntless, just before going completely insane, watches Aiden with an even gaze, his muscles relaxing, watching down the barrel of the weapon with courage absolute. He holds up his hands, smiling, “Can’t say I have, friend.”

“Maybe people are afraid of being afraid. That if they fear they are weak…” Aiden is babbling at this point. He focuses back on Dauntless, who slowly nods.

“Shoot,” He commands, “Do it. I dare you.”

Aiden sets his jaw, obeying his request.

**_{Hack}_8033_The Loop_{Pearce}_Beware-the-fire_ **

Aiden rips himself from his sleep after hearing the gunshot, practically drenched in sweat. He moves off the bed, taking slow and relaxed breaths. For a few moments all he does is listen to the quiet humming of hard drives, running a shaking hand through his damp hair.

“Why does this happen to me?” Aiden mutters to no one in particular as he pulls himself up, shoving open the boxcar door and letting cool autumn air in. Whatever was going on in his head, it isn’t going to end from the looks of it.

Dauntless is all that uncaring recklessness about him, the type that enjoyed the suffering and death he causes. Is that him? No. No it isn’t. Only a part of him.

He grabs a jacket, walking out into the chill. He knew exactly where he needs to go.


	4. Defenseless

“So you shot Dauntless…”

“Yes.”

“After he was arguing with Emotionless.”

“Yes.”

“And the gun you used was a lamb doll before.”

“Yes.” Aiden answers with finality, shaking his head, “That’s what happened.”

Kia leans back in her chair, her eyes wide and somehow tired as she ponders what Aiden has told her, “You are certainly a strange beast, Fox.”

“Well, that has been established pretty well.”

“I have no advice but to see what comes next. The good news, from what I gather, is that you only have one more clone left to face. That of Defenseless.”

The hacker thinks about the name in general. It is a drastically different meaning than that of Emotionless or Dauntless. It implies weakness, at least in his standards.

“Have you ever felt defenseless, Fox?” Kia questions with a tilt of the head.

Aiden looks ahead, pulling at his memory. Everyone feels defenseless at some point in their life, especially in childhood, but Aiden couldn’t fish out one true memory. He’s always been a fighter. Always his father’s son. He says quietly, “I can’t say I have.”

Kia watches him, nodding, “I see…then you must face this illusion. Now.”

“Now?” Aiden sighs, “I can barely sleep when I’m tired.”

“I will help,” Kia stands, “You must break this burden that you carry.” She disappears out of the room, leaving Aiden to watch the walls and listening to the jingling of charms. His paranoia spikes as he questions how the woman could get him to sleep. He felt like those strangers that actually pay attention to the people offering digital trips. He has been that unlucky stranger, waking up in a fountain hours later.

Now, however, he feels an odd trust in the clairvoyant. She has understood his circumstance so far, and understanding that is far more than he deserves.

When Kia comes back she is holding a steaming, wood cup in her hands. She looks at him, “I need to channel your aura while you sleep…”

“Right. My aura…” Aiden mumbles, looking at the cup, “What is that?”

“A tea. I’ll sooth your mind, make you sleep,” She holds out the cup, Aiden taking it slowly. The liquid smells like something of lilac.

“Where was this most of my life?”

Kia smiles a little, “Well, it shouldn’t be consumed all the time. Natural sleep is a good thing too.”

“Not in my experience. If you haven’t guessed,” Aiden puts the cup to his lips, the taste distinctly sweet, soothing hot down his throat. He sets it down, leaning back, “If I wake up in some warehouse in Russia I will not be happy.” He says dryly.

The fortune teller chuckles, “Well I should be hoping you don’t attract any of your enemies to my house, Fox. Lie down. Rest.”

Aiden lies down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. After a few moment he hears Kia step out of the room, humming gently. His eye lids grow heavier, the rhythm of Kia’s voice supporting the strange drink. He closes his eyes, taking a long, prepared breath.

**_{Dream}_%3797*54_Location: Autumn_{Defenseless}_He-Who-Influences-None_ **

Aiden knew he was dreaming again as soon as his eyes snapped open.

Above him was a spread out tree line of flaming, autumn leaves. Upon sitting up, he notices it's exceptionally foggy. Despite this, it's clear he's in the middle of the road in Parker Square.

He stands, walking down the sidewalk, his feet crunching on the fallen leaves. A cool, fall wind passes by, blowing up the tails of his trench coat. Each sensation felt real, as if they actual existed.

He glances above him just to be sure. The sky is a strange, galactic motley of colors and stars and clouds, "Yeah...definitely dreaming again..." he mutters to himself, continuing down the path, "I'm getting tired of this shit..."

It becomes increasingly hard to navigate as he moves down the street, the fog seeming to thicken on his approach. He holds his hand out as he walks, his palm meeting the bars of a wrought-iron fence. A chain was wrapped around it to prevent it from opening.

"Can't go through here..." the hacker mumbles rather needlessly, turning back, but is quickly met with a wall-like barrier, "Well okay then."

He turns back to the fence, climbing it with relative ease. In the back of his mind he wondered if could control the dream. He's aware that he's dreaming, but he can't control anything. The thought of it frustrates him to no end, even if it didn't matter. Though it certainly did help when Dauntless was involved.

As soon as his feet touch the ground, the fog consumes everything. The hacker squints ahead, but can't even see a foot in front of him. The only constant is the flaming leaves that occasionally pass his vision.

There's another breeze that passes, but this one is different. It's biting, chilled like winter. The hairs on the back of his neck rise, a multitude of whispers humming seemingly right next to his ear. Sudden, overwhelming nervousness bombards him, urging him to move forward. The voices grow louder, more vicious, hissing their words. The wind becomes gripping, like it attempted to slow his pace. Aiden tries to ignore it, but every step brought on a new, more clawing wave of anxiety. It's a feeling that is so entirely unknown to him that he can't immediately place it until it suddenly presents itself.

The feeling is fear. He is horribly, unmistakably afraid.

He's running, trying to escape it. Shadows chased him and voices growled. With a quick jump over a parked car, he ducks into a house, slamming the door behind him.

The hacker didn't realize how intense the feeling was until it began to wane, his breath escaping him in short bursts, then slow, calculated releases. He closes his eyes, sitting on the floor. It doesn’t take him long for his usual calm to return, but he couldn't shake what had happened.

"What...the fuck..." he breathes, opening his eyes and standing.

The house looks as though it was abandoned long ago. Furniture is covered, dust laying on every surface. He steps farther inside, realizing its Nicky's old home. He pushes away the tightness in his chest, the floorboards creaking beneath his feet as he walks.

"W-who's there?!" a voice stammers the question loudly from the other room. Aiden could barely recognize the voice it's so weak, but he knew full well who he'd find.

He slowly makes his way into the kitchen. The darkness sits heavily in the place, an eerie sense of emptiness dominating. The shine of the metal in the corner of his eye makes him turn, just managing to catch the wrist of knife-wielding figure. He instinctively twist's the attacker's wrist, disarming him and throwing him on the kitchen floor. He steps toward him, but the figure raises his hands.

"Stop! Stop I'm sorry!" he speaks quickly, a blue hood covering his face, "I-I thought you were someone else..."

Aiden watches as the man flips his hood down, revealing an identical, though heavily scarred face. His twin pushes himself into the corner, dressed entirely in blue hues, ripped and torn in several places. Bandages are wrapped haphazardly around his overall injured body. His eyes soften in a curious way, lowering his hands.

"Wow...I haven't seen you in...Well, in a long while." he watches him for a second, "How did you get here? How? Did you meet the others? Are you-" "

Hold on, why are you asking me?” Aiden silences his twin, "I've been trying to figure this shit out since the first dream!"

His twin is quick to back down, stammering, "I-I'm sorry! I-I was just really curious, see, because I've never seen you before."

"But you've seen Dauntless and Emotionless, right?" Aiden is surprised by the man's complete and utter cowardice, "Why did you attack me anyway?"

"No one comes in here except me," he stands, even his stance appearing frail, "I thought you were some sort of mental intruder."

He moves past Aiden, hurrying out into the hall. The hacker follows with a raised eyebrow, noticing a word on the back of his twin's blue coat.

"Defenseless." Aiden says aloud.

"Yeah?" Defenseless turns to him, "That's my name. At least that's what Dauntless and Emotionless call me. It's...fitting..." He trails off, frowning and looking out the window.

"I've met them. They're assholes." Aiden speaks as if they're separate people, despite knowing full well that they were parts of himself. Emotionless barely acknowledged him and Dauntless tried to break him in half. The fact that they were both parts of him never gets less disturbing. While in that line of thinking, he looks at the man before him. Defenseless is part of him. Part of him very, very deep inside.

"Well that's a rude thing to say..." his twin turns to him, eyes incredibly soft, "They aren't...that bad. I mean, they keep me in here to make sure I don't distract you. It's worked so far-"

"Wait...they keep you here? What are you talking about?" Aiden asks, wondering what the hell is wrong with him if parts of his brain are bullying other parts.

"It's really not that big of a deal! I mean, they have me stay here so…you know...when you get stressed out or something, I don't hold you back. I'm just a weakness...right?" He looks at Aiden, "Right?"

The hacker watches him for a long pause, not really knowing how to answer the question. This was the half that Emotionless spoke of. The part of him that clung to what he felt rather then what he thought. He watches him, his hands shaking and eyes darting, as if expecting a monster to crawl out from under the floorboards at any moment.

"Why don't you tell me?" Aiden asks, causing his twin to look at him, "Do you think you're a weakness?"

Defenseless looks completely taken off guard, taking a step back, "Um...you're asking me?"

"Is there anyone else I could have asked?" Aiden replies with another question.

"It's just...weird for someone to notice I have an opinion on anything. The last time that happened was...um..." He seems to strain his memory, "The last time I left this house."

Aiden is about to comment that his other half didn't answer his question, but the twin continues before he can, "When you were trying to decide whether to kill Maurice or not, that's when. Dauntless and Emotionless...they wanted to kill him. They said he would suffer less that way." He pauses, biting his lip and looking outside, "I...I had to tell them what I thought so...I left. Even if they didn't want me to. I told them that killing Maurice wouldn't give him the chance he wanted; that he could...maybe...live for once."

Aiden listens to him, a question leaving his lips despite knowing its answer, "What did they say?"

"Emotionless wasn't happy that I left. I mean...he's never really any sort of happy or unhappy but...never mind," he says with a bit of grimace, "But Dauntless said I was right. And Emotionless came around after we ganged up on him."

The thought of his Emotionless half being forced to make a different decision amused him greatly. He chuckles a little to himself, then frowns, remembering his original question, "If you can do that, why do you think you're weak?"

"...Oh...because I am! Right? No...Not right..." he starts to pace, occasionally looking out the window, "I mean...I think I am. They told me I was. They both did. You...you did."

"I did? When did I-" Aiden stops himself, staring at Defenseless. If this part of him was who he thought he was...he has only pushed him back.

"You pushed me back, at least." Defenseless says quietly, sitting on the sheet-covered couch, "That's why I have never seen you. I've just been...hiding." he continues to glance out the window.

"Why do you keep looking out the window?" Aiden finally asks, not being able to see anything past the fog. Defenseless bites his lip, looking back at Aiden with a concerned look, "Uh...I'm watching out for the others. They can get through the fog easily."

Aiden can see the fear in his twin's eyes, "You're afraid of them." "No! ...I mean...yes. I Am." he seems ashamed, "I guess not actually...I'm more just...you just haven't needed me all that much lately. Or really ever wanted me."

He spoke as though he was an abandoned child or lost dog. His eyes train to the floor, falling into an uncomfortable silence. Aiden steps away, wondering if he really did push back every feeling that made him sympathize, made him hesitate in his decisions. He rarely ever questioned what he needed to do to find those responsible for Lena’s death. After killing Lucky Quinn, he had thought over his actions, but only then, never before, never during. Defenseless represented every feeling that would have made him hesitate, but he had been forced to stay back. He had to move to make room for the overshadowing anger and sadness and guilt and grief.

"You're right." the hacker finally breaks the silence, "I haven't...ah...let you speak for me in a while."

Defenseless looks up, surprised, "You're actually acknowledging that?" he cuts himself off, "Oh, I mean, not like I'm insulting your intelligence-"

"You're not. Honestly, I wouldn't expect that much from myself." Aiden mutters, sitting beside his twin, "I wouldn't be afraid of the others. You don't have to listen to them."

"I do if it means keeping you alive."

"Sure, yeah, of course I'm not going to show emotion if someone's trying to shoot my fucking brains out. But any other time? I don't see why you can't put a word in."

Defenseless pauses, the smiles slightly. It wasn't a sad smile, nor a nervous one. It was an impressed one, like he was waiting for an answer like that, "I'm glad to see you're not a complete loss."

"What?" Aiden lifts an eyebrow as he asks.

His twin's smile remains until a sudden, whipping wind tears at the walls at the house. He jumps up, looking out the window, "Fuck...you need to wake up."

"It’s just wind. Why are you freaking out-“Aiden doesn't finish his question, Defenseless grabbing his arm and pulling him deeper into the house.

"It's Restless. You have to wake up. Now." his twin's voice shook a little. He swallows, stopping in the kitchen, "I'll wake you up."

"And you?" Aiden found himself worrying about a stream of consciousness.

"Don't worry about me. I don't want you to go crazy. And I'm used to it, trust me." he retrieves the knife from the kitchen floor, looking at him, "Just...don't be mad."

The wind howled outside, autumn leaves swirling in tornados past the window. Aiden practically feels a coldness settle into the room. He looks at Defenseless, then glances at the knife, knowing what he was going to do, "Are you serious?"

"I guess you could stab me too, but it's the only way I know how to wake you up." he hesitates, "I don't exactly want to-"

"Defenseless, just wake me up." Aiden moves closer, "It's a dream, it won't hurt me." His twin's expression looks pained, "It'll hurt me, though. I...can't just take a human life like you can."

_I can't just take a human life like you can_.

"I think I can forgive you." Aiden mumbles, his words not as strong as he wants them to be. Defenseless nods quickly, jumping as the wood of the house seems to crack. He takes a step forward, stabbing Aiden through the heart. The hacker felt it, but it didn't hurt, even when he collapses like the blow had truly killed him.


	5. Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It’s been a while hasn’t it? Sorry for the wait but I got quite busy with the last of my Senior year of high school. I realize this only needed one last chapter, as i left it on a rather sour note. That’s not what I wanted to portray, so here it is._

**_{Dream}_%h83200#$2_Location: Spring_{?}_He-Who-Dwells-Within_**

It seemed logical to believe being brutally stabbed within a dream would wake him. Yet Aiden knew before he even opened his eyes that such wasn’t the case. 

The feeling wasn’t unpleasant, in fact, it was comforting. A soft heat warmed the skin beneath his clothes, a gentle breeze brushing against him like it didn’t want to be rude. He finally opens his eyes, a blue sky above him. It’s clear of clouds, of complex colors, of anything resembling the delirium of the past few dreams.

He takes a couple extra seconds to roll upward, sitting in grass just a hair too long. It feels so real under his hands. Even the sun seemed to truly be there, lacking the intense heat he felt when he met Dauntless. His muscles, so trained to remain tightened like bowstrings, lay relaxed. The place seemed to prompt such relaxation, demanding it on entry. 

Yet the field wasn’t extraordinary, it was normal. Normal grass, average sky, a delicate spring morning. But this was foreign to him, an unrecognizable calm.

“Alright…” the hacker whispers to himself, unintentionally attempting to maintain the peace in the quiet place, “let’s get this over with.”

He walks across the field, looking for any sign of life. Or at least, what ever he could consider the sentient parts of his mind. He ascends and upcoming hill, pausing there, seeing Chicago just by the horizon. Watching the sun rise beside it locked him in place.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?”

The sudden voice makes Aiden twitch, looking beside him at a man he hadn’t seen when he walked up. As expected, he looked exactly like him, but somehow completely different. He was looking out as the city, eyes soft, muscles relaxed, younger. He doesn’t move his gaze as he continues speaking, “Looking at it from this distance…you wouldn’t know how much shit is going on there. It’s just like any other picture perfect skyline you put on postcards.”

Aiden glances back at the skyline, “But I know it isn’t. I want it to be, but it’s not.” he sits down beside his twin, unable to get angry or confused at this point.

“You do,” his twin looks at him now, “It’s full of corruption and ugly crimes, dirt and secrets. Just like you.”

The last comment bugs him, but he rolls his eyes. It’s all a game. “Who are you supposed to be?” the hacker questions bitterly, “Careless, Mindless, Witless—“

“Victimless.”

“Victimless?”

“That’s my name. Well…That’s what you call me.”

“I don’t—“ Aiden groans, standing again, “look, I just want these damn nightmares to end. So give me your philosophical rant and let me wake up.”

But Victimless doesn’t move, just releasing a breath, “That attitude is the reason you’re having dreams like this.”

He stands, slipping hands in the pockets of his worn jeans and walking down the hill. Aiden watches, not understanding. How could his attitude possibly effect his dreams? Either way, he was getting out. With a slight reluctance in his step he follows his twin. Victimless doesn’t speak, only walks. There was something so different and unfamiliar about him. 

“…What does the name Victimless even supposed to mean?” Aiden asks after the silence begins to frustrate him, “Tell me so I can wake up.”

His twin stops just as they reach the Chicago river, glancing back with a scoff, “You’re asking me what to do? Incredible.” 

“Now you sound like Defenseless.” Aiden replies, simultaneously annoyed with himself for referring to another fragment of his dreams, “What, is this about me? Am I supposed to have some sort of epiphany now?” He waits for an answer that doesn’t come, speaking sharply, “Tell me—!”

“The answer is in my name.” Victimless interrupts him, not harshly, sternly, like a father, “Think about it. You’re a man that runs on emotions, yet uses none of them. You’re so many things at once you can’t decide who to be.”

“What are you talking about? I know who I am!”

“Then tell me!” his twin turns to him fully, “Who are you?”

Aiden opens his mouth to speak, but words don’t come. He’s silent. What kind of question was that? A stupid one. Why should he have to explain who he is? Why should he be defined like that? He was whoever he needed to be, no matter what it took.

“You can’t answer that, can you?”

He meets the eyes of Victimless, who returns them with a disapproving gaze, “Does it matter?” 

“Does it— of course it matters!” somehow Victimless’ voice isn’t lined with anger when he speaks, “You can’t just be no one at all. You just can’t answer me, can you? You know why? Because you’re trying to be a million different people at once.”

Aiden was clenching his fists now, grinding his teeth. A part of him wanted to punch him. Yet another part wanted to listen, another didn’t care either way. 

_Dauntless, Defenseless, Emotionless._

_Which one was he?_

“Fine, “Aiden suddenly finds himself speaking, “I’m whoever I need to be to keep my family safe.”

“You can’t have it both ways.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m what keeps you sane.” Victimless speaks as if he had the upper hand, “I’m what keeps you human.”

“You’re nothing!” Aiden was shouting, then he was silent. These words, this conversation, it was so familiar. It was the exact conversation he had with Restless in his very first dream.

But now, the roles were reversed.

The slow realization makes him sit on the concrete docks, by the river. He hadn’t changed, nothing had changed. He was just as fucked up in the head as he was before. The thoughts were killing him now. Was he really so merciless? A million thoughts swim in his head that he can’t control. He wanted to hide them away, he wanted to face them, he wanted to ignore them, he wanted to destroy them. 

“You don’t have to listen to him.” 

The voice was cold. Aiden turns, meeting the dark eyes of Restless.

Restless was grinning, looking more demon-like then human, leaning back and laughing quietly, “Why are you so surprised? I’m part of you too.”

“No, he isn’t.” Victimless speaks, glaring at Restless, “He doesn’t have to be.”

“Liar. He needs me. Don’t you?” 

“No he doesn’t! You don’t, do you?”

They were both looking at him, but he couldn’t answer them. He was entranced by his own inner conflict, dying from an unknown disease from the inside out. He couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate. He gets to his feet.

And runs in the other direction.

He needed to go somewhere. Maybe if he ran himself to exhaustion, he’d wake. But what would keep him from having the very same dreams? Nothing. He’d have them ever day till he couldn’t take it anymore. Somehow he was driving himself to the edge with his own thoughts. 

Around him everything was changing. The sky darkened, buildings cracked and fell apart, clouds gathered and rain began to fall. All of this, he didn’t notice. He jumps over stalled cars, rushing into a road tunnel. 

Finally he slows, hearing the rain rush down and breathing heavy. He couldn’t face it, it was too much to take. All the people he killed, all the crimes he committed, was it all worth it? Of course it was, but as the same time, it meant nothing. 

Nothing he did would bring Lena back.

He stops walking, smelling fire, gasoline. Turning, he realizes he’s in the very same tunnel he crashed in, where she died. A burning car lay flipped over and in flames. The scene was all too familiar, making him remember. He was laying just where the driver’s door flung, reaching out to his niece, even in half consciousness knowing that she was dead. 

Everything was so fragile in him right now, he felt like he could snap. It wasn’t sadness or anger or nothingness, it was a fierce hallow pain in his chest. Even someone who was emotionless could identify as such, but he couldn’t. He drops down by the fire, watching it with lifeless eyes, not knowing how he could possibly be sane when he wakes.

A soft light rises beside, a gentle warmth. He glances to his side, startled by the sight of Lena hugging his arm. 

“Are you sad uncle Aiden?”

Her voice was the same sing-song trill, a sound he so clearly remembered. Aiden shifts suddenly, finding himself not trusting her. It had to be a trick. 

Lena looks back at him with a frown, “Are…you scared of me?”

“What? No! Of course not!” despite his suspicions just a second before, Aiden retracts them, “I’m just…” he trails off, not really knowing what he’s feeling.

But his niece grins, “Good! Cause Uncle Aiden isn’t afraid of anything!” She giggle, sitting beside him and watching the fire as he does.

He didn’t know what to say. A spirit maybe? Or perhaps simply a fabrication from his memory. Whenever he was on the verge of having a meltdown, memories of her and his family brought him back. This was his defense.

“Lena…” he starts to speak, taking a second to form his question, “Did I do the right thing?”

“What? All the bad stuff?” she looks at her toes, swinging them back and forth, “…I think you did what you thought was right.”

“But was it the right thing? I need to know if I did it right.”

“Does it matter what I think?”

“What— yes, it does.”

“Not really.”

“What?”

She sighs, standing and looking down at him. She spoke as if she was older, but with the idiosyncrasies of the child she was, “Everyone has their own definition of what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s a good thing and a bad thing, who’s a saint and who’s a devil. You’ve never really followed the crowd uncle Aiden, maybe this is the same way.”

He stares, trying to piece it together in his head. Alive and Restless, they weren’t purely good and evil, they were both shades of grey. Alive was somewhat good, Restless somewhat evil, but both had positives and negatives. 

“I have to choose, don’t I?” Aiden asks, not directly to Lena, but to himself as well, “I have to choose who I am.”

“Pretty much.” Lena shrugs as she responds, “You know yourself better then anyone.”

“How am I supposed to chose?” the man turns, looking straight at Lena as if she held the answer, “Restless…he’s what keeps me alive in that damn city, in the real world. But Victimless and the others…they keep me alive on the inside. They keep everything together.”

She looks back at him, then suddenly smiles, “That’s it!”

“What…What’s ‘it’?” Aiden looks back at her in confusion, “Did I say something?”

“You found your answer, you already know it! In here!” She pokes his chest, apparently going for the heart but being slightly off, “So choose.”

“That doesn’t—“ He stops, a chill abruptly halting his speech. 

He stands, backing up as Restless appears, bringing the storm with him, still grinning a wolfish grin, “Did you have some alone time?”

Soon after Victimless shows, some warmth with him, a calmness, “Will you tell this inner demon to leave now?”

Aiden looks between the both of them. One carried more light then the other. One carried more strength then the other. He had to choose; it was the only way to end the nightmares. Yet he struggled to find the answer.  
He looks down, seeing Lena touching his hand, smiling gently up at him. She said he had the answer, that he already knew, but how could he?

“You know you need me.” Restless speaks, lacing and unlacing his bloody fingers, “You wouldn’t be alive without me.”

“Don’t listen to him” Victimless spouts sternly, eyes intense, “I keep you grounded, sane. You wouldn’t be alive without me.”

_You wouldn’t be alive without me_

Suddenly the answer is so clear. In an instant, Aiden knew his choice. 

He looks at Restless, “You help me survive anything. I have to be ruthless to stay alive in this fucked up world.”

Restless’ grin widens, “I knew—“

“But.” Aiden interrupts him, looking to Victimless, “I can’t stay alive without feeling remorse.”

Victimless smiles a bit, “So your choice?”

At this point, Aiden smiles, taking Lena’s hand, “Both.” he closes eyes, speaking softly, “I’ll become exactly what I believe I need to be. Compassion and malice, suffering and victory, they’ll all be things I experience and give to others.” he opens his eyes again, raising his head, “And I’ll do it with both sides as one. I choose to be Alive.”

Both entities stare at him, baffled, then somehow both take on the same expression of understanding. The nod, with neither sadness nor happiness, never truly revealing if he made a good choice. And, as soon as they were there, they’re gone. 

Aiden sighs, then feels Lena’s fingers clasp his hand tighter. He looks down at her smiling face, keeping his own, “Why don’t I tell you everything?”

Her smile grows, “I’d like that.”

**_{Reality}_%^83604#@_Location: Kia’s Home_{Alive}_He-Who-Walks-Unraveled_**

Aiden wakes on Kia’s couch.

The smell of incense is strong still, though a different scent then before. An acoustic song is playing quietly though out the house, in a language Aiden couldn’t place. Kia watches him from the chair across the couch, speaking gently, “You looked refreshed.”

“You could say that.” Aiden finds his own voice lighter, “Let me tell you everything.”

The hacker recites the events of his final nightmare to detail. Kia doesn’t say a word, not even asking a questions as she listens, only occasionally nodding. 

When he finishes, she’s just as silent for several seconds before finally speaking vaguely, “…Your dreaming spirit is set free.” She rises, “there’s nothing more I can do for you. Now, if you please…” she walks to the door, gesturing to it, “I need to do some cleaning.”

Aiden smirks, but nods, leaving without another word to her, somehow knowing she didn’t require a thank you. As he steps outside in the crisp early morning air, he feels everything more clearly. 

And he was definitely was feeling for a good cup of coffee.

With purposeful strides, he heads down the street, distracted by a vibration in his pocket. He takes out his phone, a crime alert on the screen. A small smile creeps on his face. 

This is what he lived for.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of this after finishing Watch_Dogs. Even though I didn’t think Ubisoft did a good job with Aiden’s character, I saw what they were trying to do. A least I think I did. The last few comments Aiden had at the end about the choices he made inspired this little one-shot. Maybe this is not everyone’s interpretation of him, but honestly, this is the closest I can think, as in the actual game he’s a walking contradiction.  
> With the personality of an unsalted cracker. :P  
> Eh, for some strange reason I can’t help but like the paranoid little bastard. Maybe he just needs a hug.  
> Anyways, I’d be happy to write more one-shots if you guys like this one. I’ll even take requests.  
> Ta-ta >:D


End file.
